Emilio Núñez (born Juan Emilio de la Caridad Núñez y Rodriguez on 27 December 1855 in Esperanza, Las Villas,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

– 5 May 1922 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

soldier, dentist, and politician.Marquez Sterling, Carlos & Manuel; ''Historia de la Isla de Cuba''; Books & Mas, Inc, Miami, Florida (1996)

Early life and education

Núñez graduated in 1889 from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and was a dental surgeon in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. At an early age, he joined the Cuban Revolutionary Army and fought in the "Guerra de Diez Años" (

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

) attaining the rank of colonel.Marquez Sterling, Carlos & Manuel; ''Historia de la Isla de Cuba''; Books & Mas, Inc, Miami, Florida (1996). He was captured and imprisoned in El Morro Castle where he escaped, and returned to organize a rebel group to operate in San Diego del Valle until 1880 when

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

convinced him that Cuban independence was not feasible at the moment. Núñez then went into exile where he collaborated closely with Marti and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. From the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

he sent arms, ammunition and food to Cuba as Commander in Chief of the Department of Expeditions until 1885. He became a Major-General in the

Cuban War of Independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–1878) and the Litt ...

. He organized armed revolutionary expeditions from the United States. He was one of 31 delegates in the Cuban Constitutional Convention of 1900. He was the Civil

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Province of Havana from 1899 to 1902 and was the first person to raise the

flag of Cuba The national flag of Cuba () consists of five alternating stripes (three navy blue and two white) and a cherry red Chevron (insignia), chevron at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and officially adopted ...

at El Morro Castle on May 20, 1902, at noon. Núñez served as Cuban Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor in 1913 and as

Vice President of Cuba The vice president of Cuba, previously the vice president of the Council of State between 1976 and 2019, is the second highest political position obtainable in the Council of State of Cuba. Currently there is a provision for several vice presid ...

from 1917 to 1921.

Family

Núñez was the son of Bernardo Núñez y Perez-Labrador and Eulalia Rodriguez y Otero. He was married to Dolores Portuondo y Blez and they had six children: Bernardo (1886–1967), Julia (1888–1974), Maria Estrella (1890–1926), Ricardo (1893–1973), Emilio Núñez Portuondo (1898–1978) and America (1903–1964). All were born in Philadelphia except America, who was born in Havana.

References

Bibliography

* Nunez-Portoundo, Ricardo, ''General Emilio Nunez: Un Procer Cubano'', Publicaciones Cultural(1994), * Paine, Ralph Delahaye, ''Roads of Adventure'', Houghton Mifflin Company (1922) * Parker, William Belmont, ''Cubans of To-Day'', G. P. Putnam's Sons (1919)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Emilio 1855 births 1922 deaths 20th-century American politicians People from Sagua la Grande People of the Ten Years' War People of the Little War People of the Cuban War of Independence Cuban independence activists Cuban revolutionaries University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine alumni American dentists Vice presidents of Cuba Cuban emigrants to the United States 19th-century American politicians 20th-century Cuban politicians 19th-century Cuban military personnel